table of contents
(1) Introduction
Daily necessities are readily available for purchase anytime, anywhere, not only at stores such as supermarkets, drugstores, convenience stores, and department stores, but also through online shopping services via the Internet.
For foreign tourists, "health products and toiletries" remain firmly established, ranking in the top 2019 shopping items (Japan Tourism Agency, "XNUMX Survey on Consumption Trends of Foreign Visitors to Japan").
Daily necessities cover a wide range of household items such as toiletries, sanitary products, detergents, bath and kitchen utensils, etc., and each product has a variety of designs. If the design meets certain requirements, such as being novel and evoking a visually beautiful appearance, it can be registered as a design, allowing the design to be used exclusively and monopolized. In fact, daily necessities account for 13% of all design applications by field*, and there are many design registrations.
”HARAKENZO more " We would like to support those in the daily necessities industry who are aiming to further increase consumer purchasing power and expand sales channels for Japanese daily necessities, which are attracting a lot of attention from other countries. We hope that this article will be of help to those who are considering filing design applications in the field of daily necessities.
■Application status by field Source: Design Examination Standards and Examination Operations - In Response to the Revision of the Design Act in 2019
(2) Design of everyday items
A design is a shape, pattern, color, or a combination of these of an article or other object that evokes a sense of beauty through the visual sense.
At this point, you may be wondering, "How can everyday items be aesthetically pleasing?" However, it does not require lofty beauty like a work of art; it is enough if it evokes some kind of aesthetic feeling.
For example, let's take a look at a toiletry product that is popular among foreigners. Below, we will explain using an electric toothbrush as an example.
(3) Overall design
The eligibility of a design to be registered is determined based on a comprehensive assessment of various factors, including whether the design on the electric toothbrush is visually aesthetic, whether it can be mass-produced by industrial methods, whether it is a new design, and whether it is easy to create.
Group C (household health and hygiene products)
(Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., Design Registered No. 1428281)
(4) Design of "parts"
For replaceable parts, a separate design application can be filed and a design registration can be obtained.
For example, if an electric toothbrush has a separate brush and body, a design registration can be obtained for each of the brush and body. This allows for exclusive use of not only the design of the entire electric toothbrush, but also each of the toothbrush and body parts, providing stronger protection for the electric toothbrush design, such as preventing third parties from selling substitute products.
Group C (household health and hygiene products)
Right (Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., Design Registered No. 1432629)
Left (Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., Design Registered No. 1428280)
(5) Regarding partial designs
Even if you have received a design registration for the design of an entire item or a part of that item, you may not want other companies to copy the design of the finer, more distinctive parts.
For example, if the control panel of an electric toothbrush is original and distinctive, you may want to exclusively and exclusively use these parts as well.
When a design right is registered for the entire electric toothbrush, the toothbrush part, or the main body, the effect of the design right only applies to identical or similar products, and may not apply to the operation panel. In other words, if an electric toothbrush produced by another company incorporates the operation panel of your electric toothbrush, but the design of the entire electric toothbrush or the main body of your electric toothbrush is not similar to that of your company, you may not be able to prevent the other company from copying your product.
Here we will introduce the use of the partial design system. The control panel of an electric toothbrush can be specified by drawing a solid line as shown below, and the product to which the design pertains can be registered as a design "electric toothbrush." This means that the design right for the control panel can be applied to electric toothbrushes that do not have a similar overall shape.
By utilizing the partial design system, you can effectively protect the designs of original and distinctive parts of everyday items from being imitated by other companies.
Group C (household health and hygiene products)
(Dentist RX LLC, Registered Design No. 1420529)
(6) Other design registration systems
If you wish to register a variation of a design that was born from a single design concept, you can use the related designs system.
For example, if you have applied for or received a registration for the design of an electric toothbrush charger and later wish to apply for a variation design, you can apply for the earlier applied for design as the principal design and the later applied for design as a related design.
This allows the variation design (related design) to be protected by a design right in the same way as the original design (principal design). The effect of the design right is the same for both the principal design and the related design.
[Main design] [Related design]
Group C (household health and hygiene products)
Left (OMRON HEALTHCARE Co., Ltd., Registered Design No. 1530156)
Right (Omron Healthcare Co., Ltd., Registered Design No. 1530409)
[Point]
Under the revised Design Act that came into effect on April 2020, 4, it is now possible to file an application for a related design of a basic design and a design similar to the related design within 1 years from the application date of the basic design. For more information about the revised related design system, please seeCLICK HEREPlease confirm.
*The design first selected as the principal design is called the "basic design" (Article 10, Paragraph 7 of the Design Act).
(XNUMX)”HARAKENZO more " We support the daily necessities industry
The daily necessities industry is a wonderful place where unique designs differentiate products from those of other companies and add color to daily life as household items. On the other hand, if the design is not properly protected by intellectual property, pirated versions that imitate the design will easily be distributed, and you will be forced to take border control measures. In addition, as mentioned above, since this is a field with a large number of design registrations, there is a high risk that the implementation of your own design will infringe on the rights of other companies.
For this reason, you may find yourself in a situation where you are forced to be aware of intellectual property rights issues.”HARAKENZO more " We are prepared to do our utmost to protect the intellectual property of those in the daily necessities industry. Please feel free to contact us.